La Grange panel OKs Gordon Park upgrades

Skate park is among proposed elements

April 10, 2013|By Michelle Manchir, Chicago Tribune reporter

Construction of a skate park area and sewer upgrades, among other improvements, at Gordon Park in La Grange will move forward after the village's Plan Commission gave a green light to the project after weeks of discussion between the park district and village officials over a land ownership dispute.

The plan still requires sign off from the Village Board, but it gained the Plan Commission's recommendation April 4 after village and park officials agreed to transfer a small portion of land at Locust Street and Ogden Avenue to the village so it can complete improvements to the intersection.

At a February village meeting, an attorney for park officials told the village panel that transferring the property was not something "we're willing to do."

But last week park district Director Dean Bissias said after discussions with village officials, it was determined the village needed only the "pencil tip" of the intersection property in order to complete any future improvements, like adding a deceleration lane for westbound traffic on Ogden.

"There really wasn't a lot of emotion or anything about it; it was just a matter of (clarifying) what was needed," Bissias said. "…We kind of negotiated back and forth whether they really needed it."

Improvements at Gordon Park have been discussed since about 2008, when a developer had planned to redevelop the YMCA property near the park into a massive apartment complex. The developer had committed to providing monetary contributions to upgrade Gordon Park, but the entire project was not constructed "due to adverse economic factors and a protracted court battle over the park district's ability to sell land for the development," according to a village document.

Since then, the park district applied and gained an Illinois Outdoor Recreation grant, which, with bonds, will fund Gordon Park's improvements, said Bissias.

The district has also committed about $2 million to the project, which will include sewer upgrades, which officials have said are necessary to prevent flooding of the sports fields.

Bissias said if the project gains Village Board support, construction would begin later this year.